Halgrim's Tower (PM to join)

[SandS13]

"Thank you Thom." Emmeline gave him a faint smile. She watched as he sat. For a moment she feared it was all a charade. Now that he had lulled her into a false sense of security and put her in a vulnerable state he would take advantage.

Her body tensed as his hands moved and he covered her in the blanket. She relaxed almost crying out in relief.

"I keep waiting for you to hurt me." She confessed. "I have never been frightened of much but this place has shown me so much to fear in a very short time." She adjusted her head so she could look at him. "Have you been a guard here long? Does anyone ever get to leave?"

 

[LandiKirk]

LaVonda woke with the other cellmates and saw her clothing on her belly. She was somewhat grateful to be back in this cell
It kept the others from getting angry or jealous over her getting "favouritism ".

LaVonda washed up with the small bucket they were given and slipped back into her clothes. She would have to ask about some scraps of cloth to make herself another shift so she.could wash one and wear the orher.

Someone came and she went back to her duties. First she began sweeping the floor to.make.sure no dust gathered thru the night, then she made her buckets for cleaning and scrubbed some shackles that looked as if it was coated in blood.

About half an hour later she was fixing the handle of a whip. The leather that wrapped the handle had come loose and she was rewinding the leather and making a.knot to hold the leather onto the wooden handle and protect the user from splinters

 

[Knightmare27]

Tyann smiled the next morning as he read through the new paperwork that had been delivered. Normally, this was his least favorite part of the day, but not now that he had such lovely memories to linger on... interesting! The judge had really been quick in Emmeline's case. Whoever she was, she must have really made some of the people at the court very concerned. The judge had to have signed the order in the middle of the night. The thought of the grim old man signing this in his nightgown and cap made him grin.

He was being ordered to keep the whole affair as concealed as possible. No public whipping or even public trial for her. Sentenced to lifelong slavery. Sealed, signed and approved. Normally, even His Majesty did not dispose with formalities that easily, so someone had to be really, really keen to hide her away and hopefully make people forget about that lady... highly interesting.


*****************************************************************


"I have only been here for two months, so there isn't much I can tell", he said hesitantly, smiling shyly at her. "To tell you the truth, I am also scared of this place. Not so much the pain... I am used to seeing pain" - he gestured vaguely towards his eyepatch - "it's how bleak everything is. People going down here, never returning... if I were a criminal, I would never let them catch me alive, that's for sure."

Compared to this place, the whippings he had received in the army from time to time (he was not the most diligent soldier) were just friendly reminders!

"I need to go back on duty now. Sleep well, and I shall be back again as soon as I can."

He almost leaned in to kiss her goodbye on the lips, but instead just looked at her face and stroked her hair affectionately. As he left and closed the cell door behind himself, he made a vow to make Emmeline's life as good as he could make it in this living hell.

 

[LandiKirk]

LaVonda placed the whip back on the wall and started checking the stretching rack. She was shocked to see the grime on it as she had cleaned it so completely yesterday.

There was no grumbling about the condition as she scrubbed the brush over the stone gears. It was during this work that some of the men that worked and punished other prisoners dexises to add to her work by dumping shit on the floor around the whipping post. A few others decided to add to the mess by pissing at the base. It didnt take long for the stench to permeate the entire room.

LaVonda sighed at the mess and wished she could snack the ones that disrespected the Master Jailer. When she finishes wirh the rack she takes a fresh bucket of soap and an empty one to clean the mess by the post.

She had completely finished the job and the scent of soap came from the base and the floor was clean. The one who complained yesterday about the overkill aroma of soap once again dumped the contents of her bucket over her head. Only this time it was the shit bucket he used.

LaVonda cried this time as she wiped at her eyes. She rushed over to the pump and tries to wash herself and make a new bucket for cleaning. She looked back and watches a pair spell the dirty water across the floor.

Now she was pissed and began cursing in her old tongue. Cockney was what it was called with a smathering of Welsh.
"Did you not hear the Master Jailer say this place was to be cleaned. He did not say his men would shite upon the floors or make more work for the one who is doing his will by seein the room is vermin free.. are ye begging fer fleas ta com anna bite her legs. Da yer want ta have sores on yer cockflesh?"

They laughed and ignored her wagging tongue. Before long some had left to have the midday meal while LaVonda recleanes the shit off the floor. If she were a leech she would put mind stealing powder in their steins like Mistress would do to some of her patrons to gain more money for their bed partner.

 

[SandS13]

Emmeline wanted to ask about his eye but held back. She returned his shy smile. She wanted to tell him she should have never come here and she had never intended to get caught. She wanted to tell him she had been foolhardy to leave her home. She wanted to tell him who she was and why she needed to get out and get home.

She said nothing. She nodded, just a little when he said he would come back as soon as he could. She thought it was nice to say but she feared she would never see him again. This brief kindness was going to be fleeting.

Emmeline was surprised when his hand touched her hair. She lifted her head, watching him leave. As she laid down once more she stared at the ceiling. Why had he touched her hair? Why had he looked at her like that?

She wanted to stay awake, she knew she shouldn't be tired but this place seemed to push her down, exhaust her. She slept.
---
"Sir, we found her horse."

Lord Glenfeld stiffened. "Where?"

"The edge of Halgrim's kingdom."

The lord shook his head. "It can't be. Was there signs of a struggle? Was she lured out there? Search her room again, perhaps it was a trap."

"No, sir. Nothing to indicate a trap was found. So sign of a struggle. The horse was not tied in a way that suggested she planned to be gone long. There is, something else..."

"What?"

"Well, in her quarters we found baubles, trinkets. Some are from the houses of other nobles."

"What are you implying."

"Well, we think Emmeline went back to her old habit of sneaking away and stealing sir."

Lord Glenfeld sneered. Yes, his daughter's uncouth little habit. "So what are you implying?"

"What if-what if she sought to sneak into someplace and Halgrim's soldiers-"

"Don't say it." All knew the reputation Halgrim had for his treatment of criminals.

"Sir-"

"Find out. Find out if she is there. If he holds her our plans will crushed. We cannot let that happen."

Letters were written. Lord Glenfeld reached out to the Lord in Lotering. This was potentially devastating. His hope now was to pool their resources and find a way to locate his daughter and return her home. Is she was in the tower he feared the very worse.
-----
Morning brought fresh swelling, fresh pain. Emmeline didn't think her thumbs could get any larger but they did as her body sought to protect and heal the damaged area. The entirety of her hands were stiff. They were useless, completely. Very slowly, Emmeline managed to roll herself onto her stomach. From there she could draw her knees under her body, using them to help get herself up. She rested there a moment, head on the bed and ass pointed upwards. She groaned as she stretched stiff muscles. She had been laying down far too much and her back, hips and legs protested. In addition the strain her body went through with the torture, all the tension and adrenaline, had left her achy and sore.

It felt good to stretch her body.

 

[Knightmare27]

Still in a good mood, Tyann finished the morning's paperwork and made his way towards the first level cells to tell Emmeline the good news. He entered the hallway and stopped for a few moments in front of the cell where he had spent the night before with LaVonda. He sighed contentedly as he remembered this, then, still smiling, unlocked the door to Emmeline's cell.

She was on her stomach, now with the blanket over her. Either she had mustered the incredible willpower needed to cover herself with her thumbs in that state, or one of the guards had done it for her. He chuckled. Of course he was not the only one who had been taken in by her...

"Wake up, slave. Yes, that is right. I just received signed orders from the court telling me that you are sentenced to lifelong slavery. You have even been spared the public whipping I promised you. It seems they want to keep your stay here as secret as possible. Now, I do not understand much about statecraft, but that tells me that you are even more than you told me. I think I am starting to understand now why you kept up your lie for so long when I tortured you. You have some even bigger secret, don't you?"

He came closer, sat next to her and put his hand on the rough blanket so he could feel her butt through it.

"No, calm down. I am not going to torture that secret out of you too, unless the court wants me to. As far as I am concerned, your case is over and your punishment begins."

He picked up the wooden bowl and played with it a little, noticing how clean it was. Either she really was the bravest woman alive or she had had help with eating. Either way, she had to be really, really hungry to lick this mess up that greedily.

"Now, as you probably noticed, the cooking here is quite bad. Which is why it is such good news that I have decided to make you a kitchen slave. Truly a position fit for a lady. You will have daylight, plenty of food and an opportunity to do some meaningful work. What could be more meaningful than keeping your fellow slaves and prisoners alive?"

Her abused hands had to be under that blanket somewhere, but he was not going to dig them up now. He could imagine what state they were in quite clearly.

"You can not start cooking right away, of course. Not with thumbs like that. I will have the healer sent here, along with a pot of cold water, so you can be nice and clean while we wait for your hands to become ready for some slave labor. Meanwhile, I will leave you here and let you become used to your new life cooking slop for the rest of your days."

He paused and stood up from the bed, still facing her.

"I want you to be nice to old Mara the healer. She looks like quite the crone and will not treat you nearly as politely as you are probably used to, but she is the best healer I know. She has to be, considering what she has to deal with every day. It will feel like a second round of torture when she puts one of her stinking herbal remedies on your thumbs and bandages them up, but that is something you are going to have to deal with. You are a slave now. The faster you get used to pain, the better."


*****************************************************************


On his daily patrol, Thom passed some of his fellow guards laughing in the hallways. Knowing them, that had to mean they had played some kind of very funny trick on a prisoner. It had probably involved waste or their dicks in some way, because they were like that. Were all old soldiers this stupid? They were fellow soldiers, and he admired their bravery and the many tales of combat they told, but why did they have to be so crude?

His way led him down to the torture chamber. He was still not quite used to the smell down there. It had so many parts that he could not figure them all out, nor did he want to. Sweat, blood and other bodily fluids, but also fear. Yes. If fear had a smell, it would probably stink exactly like that.

Well, something was being done about the smell, in any case. A slave - she had to be one of the new ones, since he had not seen her before - was crouching by the whipping post and cleaning up the mess.

Unlike the others, he found no joy in prisoner abuse. On the other hand, he was no idiot. He knew that this was a rough place, and showing his softer side to too many of the captives could easily make him part of an escape plan or worse. So he tried to sound cold and businesslike, even as he talked to slaves and prisoners just to pass the time. Emmeline had been one thing. They had been alone, and she had seemed so helpless. But cleaning the torture chamber was considered the worst position possible for a slave, so this one had to be a hardened criminal, despite looking almost as beautiful as the poor lady up on the first floor.

"What's that smell, slave? Did someone shit themselves in fear while they were whipped, huh?"

Well done. He sounded almost as mean as the other guards.

"New here, isn't that right? How many years did they give you? Ten? Twenty? I hope it's a lot. You are down here, cleaning the torture chamber, and that tells me that whatever you did must have been quite the thing. Did you kill someone? You don't look like much of a killer to me. Besides, you would have been executed, not put down here to wipe it up every time someone pisses all over the equipment down here."

He came closer and grabbed her dirty hair. He wanted her to think he was just as tough as the other guards. And besides, he wanted to get closer to her and find out what she looked like.

"Wait until you see your first case of water torture. They fill them up so much... and then what goes in must come out again. Puke and piss all over the floor once we are done with them. And then guess who gets to clean up the mess so the next one can be tortured on a nice, clean bench."

Actually, he had never seen the chamber in use. He contrived to be as far as possible on his rounds whenever he heard screaming from down there. But he had listened to the other guards, some of whom actually liked lingering near the door, tell their tales of what happened here. Words like "cunt" and "tits" had been involved. In some cases, the entire story had practically consisted of them. Going by them, a woman in this room had about the same chance of holding on to her virginity as to her secrets.

Still keeping up his "cruel guard" impression, he pulled on her hair lightly and turned her face towards his.

"Slave, I bet you were happy when you were told you would be spared the mines, right? Well, are you happy now? Wouldn't you rather be swinging a pickaxe in some pitch-black tunnel right now?"

 

[LandiKirk]

"What's that smell, slave? Did someone shit themselves in fear while they were whipped, huh?"

LaVonda heard the guard speaking to her but didnt stop her scrubbing. "I do not know Master. But I wish those by the archway rot for pissing on the base here. I will not complain for the other Master bid me to clean all that is in this room. He would be unpleased with me for not obeying his word. "

"New here, isn't that right? How many years did they give you? Ten? Twenty? I hope it's a lot."

"Ten years, Master." LaVonda answers.

" You are down here, cleaning the torture chamber, and that tells me that whatever you did must have been quite the thing. Did you kill someone? You don't look like much of a killer to me. Besides, you would have been executed, not put down here to wipe it up every time someone pisses all over the equipment down here."

LaVonda paused for a few moments as she wrings out the clothe she was using to get in the crannies of the post. "The was a fire in the brothel. Due to the incident eleven people died. I was sent here for not providing services paid for."

"Wait until you see your first case of water torture. They fill them up so much... and then what goes in must come out again. Puke and piss all over the floor once we are done with them. And then guess who gets to clean up the mess so the next one can be tortured on a nice, clean bench."

LaVonda shrugs, "No difference from what orphanage does to some of the children to train them for the brothel to discourage disobeying."

LaVonda tries to lower her eyes as he lifted her head. The wolf on her cheek is one of the first things he would see. Her dark hair despite being wet still curled in places behind her ears.

"Slave, I bet you were happy when you were told you would be spared the mines, right? Well, are you happy now? Wouldn't you rather be swinging a pickaxe in some pitch-black tunnel right now?"

LaVonda sighed then dares to look up. "The Master I saw bid me to clean this place. I shall obey his wishes without complaint. I know not of the mines you speak of. But I would believe the guards there do not piss upon their Master's tools like those in the archway have."

LaVonda looked back at her chore and then replied. "Master, if I have done wrongly I beg you to punish me quickly for there is still work to do and I do not wish to upset the other Master. I gave him my word."

 

[SandS13]

She heard the cell door open but Emmeline remained as she was. Moving quickly was not going to be possible and here she might be able to roll, kick out maybe should she need to fight someone off.

Slave? The thought went unspoken as his hand touched her backside over the blanket. He talked of how she had more secrets and she began to shake fearing he was going to drag her from the bed and torture her.

He told her no punishment would come. Emmeline whimpered in relief. She heard the bowl being moved. She feared now that he knew someone had helped her. Would she be punished? Would Thom?

Her jailer began speaking of her punishment and Emmeline turned her head, slipped down onto her stomach and watched him. He wanted her to cook. To serve in the kitchen. Emmeline had never cooked a day in her life. She had never done anything that would be considered labour at all. He spoke of the healer but Emmeline couldn't focus on that. She drew her knees back underneath herself and this time raised herself up to sit on her legs. The blanket fell off of her back and she was looking at him.

"I do not know how to cook."

She slowly moved on her knees, hands cradled before her. "Please, let me go home. I do not know how to cook or clean. I will tell no one you released me, I will just go. Money, I can pay you when I get home. My father will pay for my release."

She was in the bargaining stage of her grief. Grief at being caught, at the pain she was in.

"Please." She pleaded with him.

 

[Knightmare27]

Tyann chuckled. "You can not cook? Girl, did that sludge you ate taste like it was cooked by someone who could? As you probably noticed, I do not care how the food for the slaves tastes, as long as whatever supplies of meat and...other things...we get end up in their stomachs, keeping them alive to suffer another day."

Her pleading was adorable, and the sight of her lithe body with the blanket off was incredibly exciting. But if pleas for mercy worked on him, his dungeon would have been empty a long time ago.

"Oh, I am sure you have a rich father. Most noble ladies do. You are lucky you only offered me promises and not, as some especially smart girls tried to do, golden coins hidden up their...you know where. Because that is bribery, and would have gotten you a caning. And I would have kept the coins for their interesting smell. No, Emmeline. If bribery worked here, the first level would be empty and I would be rich. As it happens, I prefer it the other way around. Especially if it means that you will stay here forever."

He put his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes. Her pale skin was smooth, but cold to the touch.

"And besides, it will be a long time before your thumbs will be healed enough, anyway. In the meantime, you will stay here and get used to the life of a slave. Lucky you. Most who get enslaved here are put on cleaning duty on the day they arrive, and then their whole life consists of cleaning, sleeping and eating. Forever. You get an entire month to get used to it, and you will be a kitchen slave. You will eat better, and do more interesting work. In short, I am already being as merciful as I am allowed to. Use this time to let it sink in that your life as a noblewoman is over. You are now a slave, for the rest of your days."

He pulled her closer and gave her a tight hug, entirely sincerely. The news had to be a terrible shock for her, and she would take some time. But eventually, she would have to get used to it. He pulled her in so tightly he could feel her breasts through his leather top, making a new wave of excitement rise in him. His hands on her back could feel her breathing. The slow, unsteady breaths of a woman in complete despair.



*****************************************************************


From her mark, Thom could tell she was a slave girl. A very well-trained slave girl, at that. She answered all his questions and seemed almost eager to return to the dull drudgery of cleaning all manner of bodily fluids off the instruments down here. She was pretty, even covered in dungeon dirt, but seemed to be entirely unaware of that. Entirely unaware of anything, in fact, except for her work.

Part of him wanted to drop the act and show his true face, but part of him cautioned: What if she was running the same trick on him? What if she pretended to be submissive and meek but was actually planning an escape or something else? It was certainly what he would try if he was ever imprisoned, and she seemed smart enough to form the same plan.

She clearly wanted to return to her work, at least that was what she said she wanted. Who could tell with a slave who had been broken into obedience so thoroughly?

"Good work, slave. Now stop for a bit, and polish my boots."

His boots were grimy and dirty, like most guards', but that was not the reason. He wanted to test her obedience, and make her believe he was just as bad as the other guards. Well, not quite as bad. He would never stoop so low as to do what some of them demanded of the slaves. Though, honestly, the thought of a pretty girl kneeling at his feet did excite him a little bit.

As he waited for her to comply - or not - he continued thinking whether it would be safe to reveal himself to her and be nicer. Not yet. She had been sentenced to ten years, she had said. Plenty of time to find out whether she had a cunning plan or was just that used to slavery.

He pointed at a heavy iron door in the wall, barely larger than an oven hole. "A few months ago, one of the slaves threw a bucket of water at one of us. We stuffed her in there - took quite a bit of shoving and pushing because she was on the curvier side and her tits wouldn't fit - and left her in there for two days. She fit in there as snugly as a baby in the womb. Cried like a baby too, and screamed and pleaded. She is now the cleaner for the third floor, and has not spoken a word ever since."

In fact, he was only reciting what two of the other guards had told him at dinner a few days ago, with a lot of the swearing and lewd hand gestures left out. But what better way to make her believe he was one of the mean ones than to pretend that he actually enjoyed stories like that?

 

[LandiKirk]

"Good work, slave. Now stop for a bit, and polish my boots."

LaVonda looks at his boots then asks. "Will Master permit me to change buckets and brush. Would be I'll work to use dirty water and a shitty brush."

LaVonda saw his head nod so she quickly went to the pump and left the filthy buckets and brought back another bucket with clean water, a little soap, and resin that acted as a polish. A cloth and brush clipped to the bucket so she would make one trip.

LaVonda returns and kneels down in front of his feet. She laid one cloth down then places the soap ans resin down on a clean surface. She dips the brush in the water and starts on his left boot.

"A few months ago, one of the slaves threw a bucket of water at one of us. We stuffed her in there - took quite a bit of shoving and pushing because she was on the curvier side and her tits wouldn't fit - and left her in there for two days. She fit in there as snugly as a baby in the womb. Cried like a baby too, and screamed and pleaded. She is now the cleaner for the third floor, and has not spoken a word ever since."

LaVonda looks to the place he pointed and makes a note to check there as she hasn't been in the to clean. In fact she didnt know it was part of the dungeon.

When he mentioned baby, tears started falling down her face. He hit a chord in her pain. She closed her eyes for a moment as the two little faces came to mind. It hasn't been four months since she lost her second child. "Pray Master say no more.. I shall obey your wishes."

LaVonda went back to cleaning his boots. She was scrubbing harshly to remove every ounce of dirt that may have been on them. She even tried to lift his foot to scrub the soles better. When finished she switched boots and a few spots she had to pry off the layers of mud. She didnt make any complaints but softly began humming as she continues to buff the too of his booot.

 

[Knightmare27]

Having a pretty girl obey his every wish without question was not something Thom was used to, and some very dark thoughts rose in him. Still, he resisted and instead looked at her nimble fingers rushing through every nook of the worn leather boots until they were as shiny as new.

She was working on his other boot now, humming merrily as if she was some happy servant girl, not a slave in what should be the most terrifying place in the kingdom. Either she really was that good at deception, or she was the most contented slave he had ever seen.

When she was done polishing his shoes, he continued, in the same commanding tone "That hole I just showed you? Get inside and clean it, thoroughly. And be done before I return, or I will close the door on you."

Of course, he had no intention to actually do that. He was just doing it to further test her obedience - and, honestly, because it was surprisingly fun. This kind of power felt good, and he decided to get away from her before it went to his head and really did turn him into one of the other guards.

The hole he had just told her to clean smelled like it had never been cleaned before. The stench clearly was another horror to add to the suffering of the unfortunates who got stuck in there. In order to get every cranny spotless, she would have to stuff herself into it and clean for hours while barely able to move. If she obeyed that order, she probably really was that obedient.

He opened the door to the torture chamber and left after locking it thoroughly, his feelings confused by a beautiful woman for the second time. Those poor beauties. The other guards would have so much "fun" and he would be powerless to stop them. Even the master jailer was in on it, after all. All he could do was to be the one who did not think entirely with his dick. That was the only thing he could do for them, and it was not much, but it had to be sufficient.

 

[LandiKirk]

"That hole I just showed you? Get inside and clean it, thoroughly. And be done before I return, or I will close the door on you."

"Yes Master." LaVonda responded then rose to change rhe water and grab another brush. She quickly brought the sup pl ones to the open doorway. LaVonda also had a plain knife to pry off some of the thicker crust.

LaVonda decided to use a small piece of lye soap. She knew it would wat away some of the grime for her and perhaps be done before his return.

LaVonda began cleaning the back of the door and left the sprinkle of lye to work on the opening behind her. Thankfully she had that knife as she began picking at rhe inch thick grime from the door and hinges

A few other guards left to eat their mid day meal and were remarking how Thorn had threatened the cleaning slave to be locked in the "hole's.

"Have to say one thing good about her. I saw how shiny Thorn's boots are . He had her humming while she worked.. dammed crazy whore." He bragged

For two hours LaVomda worked on that space. She was surprised to finally reach the very back of this space. She quickly noticed she needed fresh water but couldn't get it as the door closed and she couldn't see where the handle was. Now she knocked at the door hoping someone would let her out so she could finish.

 

[Knightmare27]

Thom can back to check on the slave four hours later. As he approached the hole, his eyes caught a detail and widened in horror. All three bolts were closed! She had been trapped in there for hours! What had he done? He had enjoyed his power too much and lured her to this place, and now someone had trapped her!

He had wanted to test her obedience, and, once again, she had obeyed without question. That had been her downfall. Some of the other guards had found it funny to make good on his threat, and now she was being tortured as punishment for obeying him! Regret filled his thoughts as he stared at the heavy black door for a moment.

Now was not the time to keep up any facades. With trembling hands, he punched back all the bolts and ripped the door wide open, fearing in what state he would find her.

The carefully built costume was gone. The young man underneath was back, his face full of concern and regret as he reached into the hole, ready to pull her out and see the damage he had done. This place did turn men into monsters, if only accidental ones. But had it been an accident? He had clearly enjoyed sending her there, after all. Was he so much better than the men who had closed the door? Granted, he kept his dick in his pants, but wasn't he just as power-hungry as them?

 

[LandiKirk]

LaVonda tumbled out the opened door and her bucket spilled on the floor. She was sobbing not from fear of being in there so long but because she hadn't finished her work.

She looked up and more tears flowed over her cheeks. "Please Master forgive me.. pleas forgive me."

Her heart was breaking because she broke her word. The chamber was not completely clean and this was the second time in her life that she didnt finish what she started.

LaVonda dropped to her belly and kissed at his shoes. Begging for forgiveness. The tears washing her wolf of dirt bit she would still have her shame

 

[Knightmare27]

He had been prepared for anything - except for her begging him for forgiveness. No one could pretend to be that obedient - or that strange. She was the genuine article, and she was still kissing his feet as if it had been her who had wronged him.

He sighed in relief - both because it had been not that bad for her and because he was now finally convinced that she was not tricking him and could stop his act. He could reveal his true self.

"Stop, please. If anything, I should apologize to you. I forgot what things some people her find funny."

 

[LandiKirk]

"Stop, please. If anything, I should apologize to you. I forgot what things some people her find funny."

LaVonda couldn't stop shedding tears but admitted her crime. "I disobeyed.. I could not finish the task Master gave me. I wanted to change the water but could not open the door. Please Master forgive me.. I beg thee."

LaVonda lifted her hands and waited for the punishment she had received the later time. Her hands strapped twenty times as a lesson to finish her work in time.

 

[Knightmare27]

He was confused why she was showing him her hands, but he took it as a sign to take them and pull her up by them. She was still babbling on about her mistake and begging for forgiveness. How could he calm her down? He sighed. If she was that used to pain, there really was only one way.

He fought back all his pangs of guilt and planted a mighty slap on her cheek. It would hopefully take her out of this state, and maybe, now that she felt she had been punished, they could finally talk normally.

"There. Don't do that again."

Don't do what again? Don't trust idiot prison guards and their orders? But if he wanted her to accept that she was being punished, he had to be harsh.

 

[LandiKirk]

LaVonda's head turned from the slap and burned as well. Bitndidnhave the desired effect, she stopped begging but the tears were still tracing down her cheeks.

"There. Don't do that again."

LaVonda nods and meekly replies."yes Master."

It still bothered her but she remained quiet on that note. "May I finish my chores Master?"

There was only three tasks left, finish the hole, clean up the floor again, and wash out the buckets and brushes.

 

[Knightmare27]

"Yes. Finish your chores. Then come here."

He settled down on one of the few stools in this place that did not feature any spikes, chains or hidden blades - at least he hoped so - and watched her finish her work. She was fascinating, but in a completely different way from Emmeline. That one was simply a poor woman stuck in a situation she was not even fully comprehending yet. He understood her feelings.

But this one? How could she be so happy, so obedient, so - carefree? In a place like that. His mind was torn between pitying her and envying her. She was so thoroughly gone that she would be happy anywhere as long as she had work to do. If you truly wanted to punish her, you would have to lock her somewhere with nothing to do. Which he just had, it occurred to him, as his conscience gave him another kick.

 

[LandiKirk]

"Yes. Finish your chores. Then come here."

LaVonda went and changed the water she brought back two water buckets and an empty one. She had several clothes and another few pieces of lye soap.

She activated the lye and placed it in the back of the hole. While it worked its magic she scrubbed the floor where the other bucket spilled. Once again she was humming to herself as she scrubbed the floor so hard that it shined in that one spot. LaVonda realized she had accidentally bleached the floor .

Now she took that bucket back to the other dirty ones. She grabbed another brush and made a new soapy bucket and stuck all the dirty clothes in it with soap. The water had been boiled so she could truly clean the rags.

LaVonda crept back inside the hole and set to work on the back of the hole. The lye had cut through the crust and made it easier to complete the cleansing. It took a little over an hoirbfor just that spot.

LaVonda climbed back out and admired her diligence. Now both Masters should be pleased. LaVonda picked up her buckets and went to work on cleaning them out and laying them on a bench to dry.

The brushes were laid at an angle on the handles and her rags now washed were laid over a rope to dry. Next she dumped her old water in the sewer as she was first instructed to do. Then she took a few minutes to wash herself with the leftover warm water. It felt good to clean her breasts, face, and hands. She wished she had set more aside and washed her hair.

Now she came back and lowered to her knees. Eyes cast downwards then asks. "Is there anything else Master wants me to do?"

 

[Knightmare27]

Master. She was calling him master again.

"Come on, you can look me in the eyes. And take a seat. If you can find anything in here that will not rip your flesh off, of course.", he added.

Nothing could make this young woman unhappy, it seemed. What if he had left her in there for an entire night? Would she have climbed out in the morning the same way, seemingly completely oblivious to the fact that she was being tortured, apologetic about not having finished her work? Probably. She was either the wisest person he had ever met, or the greatest fool.

"I am tired of calling you slave. I am Thom. What is your name?"

She was even prettier now that she had washed herself, and looked very tempting, but he resisted that temptation. She was trained - almost bred - to obey, and she would probably do anything for him if he ordered her to, but this was different from the tavern wenches he occasionally paid for an hour in the hay. This girl seemed unable to decline any request. If he had ordered her to set herself on fire, she would have probably smiled even as the flames engulfed her, just happy to have obeyed. It scared him a little bit.

"Why do you always follow orders? Is there anything you want for yourself? I would really like to know."

He really did. It was not normal what she was doing. Then again, it seemed to be the only way to be happy in this dungeon, so what if, by asking her what she wanted, he suddenly made her realize what kind of place this was? Wouldn't it be kinder to treat her the way she wanted to be? It was a painful thought, but maybe he was hurting her more now than when he had pretended to be cruel...

It occurred to him that the friendliest way to treat her might have been the way his comrades had treated her, that she simply needed to be abused and enslaved to be happy.

 

[LandiKirk]

"Come on, you can look me in the eyes. And take a seat. If you can find anything in here that will not rip your flesh off, of course."

LaVonda looks up since he gave her permission. She turned herself so she was sitting with her knees holding her hands and head

"I am tired of calling you slave. I am Thom. What is your name?"

"I was called LaVonda. During my time at the orphanage I was called Martha.. my Mistress returned me to LaVonda for an added exotic feature to make the patrons use me for the night."

"Why do you always follow orders? Is there anything you want for yourself? I would really like to know."

"I do not wish to feel the whip with teeth upon my back again. I would like some cloth to make a second shift so I would not stink badly." There was another thing she wanted but remained silent about it. It would be too soon for such a wish

LaVonda looked at his eyes then asked. "What troubles your heart that your eyes grow dim, Master Thom?"

 

[Knightmare27]

Her oddly poetic phrasing cut through his dark thoughts. So there were things she wanted. That was almost a relief. She was not completely broken inside. And she clearly, to his relief, did not enjoy the beatings. She just took them as part of her life. Well, they certainly were now...

It troubles me that you think this is normal, he wanted to say, but he stopped himself. As long as she was in this state, she could be happy. Why destroy something like that?

"Nothing. I...I want you to be happy. I know it sounds strange, coming from a guard like me. I am not going to free you, and I think you deserve your punishment. I just don't think even a slave should be treated like that."

Except if she apparently really, really wants to, he added mentally. "I am going to get you some cloth so you can sew a slave gown for yourself. It is what most slaves wear here."

"LaVonda...or Martha... or whichever you prefer, I see you are happy down here. That is a rare thing. For most, this place is a living hell, but you hummed the whole time while you polished my boots. That is something special. I wonder if there is any place you can not find happiness in? It almost feels like you love being ordered around. Do you like what the other guards are doing to you? Honestly?"

 

[LandiKirk]

"Nothing. I...I want you to be happy. I know it sounds strange, coming from a guard like me. I am not going to free you, and I think you deserve your punishment. I just don't think even a slave should be treated like that."

LaVonda frowned a little but remains quiet. All people sometimes don't want to reveal.everything because it may appear to be weakness.

"I am going to get you some cloth so you can sew a slave gown for yourself. It is what most slaves wear here."

LaVonda smiled "Thank you, Master Thom. It will be nice to change from the brother's gown."

"LaVonda...or Martha... or whichever you prefer, I see you are happy down here. That is a rare thing. For most, this place is a living hell, but you hummed the whole time while you polished my boots. That is something special. I wonder if there is any place you can not find happiness in? It almost feels like you love being ordered around. Do you like what the other guards are doing to you? Honestly?"

"I prefer my true name, its LaVonda. In the orphanage I was taught idleness is a sin to the Christ. A orphan should be happy to have food, a bed, and someone to serve. Hell is much worse then here. The sisters taught us about the damnation of the soul. I was not happy at the Brothel when I was no longer allowed to work in the kitchens. I was not happy another two times but a death of an innocent happened."

LaVonda points to the red teardrops on her arm. "Selig and Hope."

La Vonds realized this was the first time she spoke their names and even now her heart started to ache. LaVonda felt the tears start to stream down her cheeks.

"Most of my life I've been told what I should do. I shouldn't want anything more than be obedient to those who own me." LaVonda explains. "Even a Soldier has a Master, he serves the King. "

LaVonda grimaced but admitted. "I do not like to clean their oiss from the floor. I cannot believe the Master jailer wants them to spoil his machines or tools. He himself bid me to keep this room clean. I do not.mind cleaning these things it is no different from the tasks I had at the Brothel."

 

[SandS13]

Perhaps he was not kind deep inside as Emmeline had thought he might be. He truly seemed to enjoy keeping the prisoners here. Hopelessness filled her. He made it sound as if being a kitchen slave was the best possible outcome. He spoke as if the month it would take for her to heal would be an orientation of sorts, time for her to settle into her knew home, new life.

A small part of her wondered if she her husband would have said something similar to her upon bringing her to her new home.

He hugged her and despite herself Emmeline wrapped her arms about him, put her head down and let soft tears of defeat fall. She was never leaving here. There was no escape and she would never be released. The judge had said she was to stay. She was to be hidden away. It meant someone high above the jailer in the system knew who she was. Perhaps the relief was that Halgrim did not know. If he did she could be used as a political pawn, a way to crush Jura in one swoop without ever lifting a sword. Or perhaps he did know and was playing it safe, biding his time to let the two kingdoms tentative partnership break apart and then he would strike.

Emmeline didn't know and in this moment, as the jailer held her it didn't matter. The reality was this was her life now.